Zelenskyy says row with Trump in White House ‘not good for both sides’ – as he refuses to apologise
The Ukrainian president has refused to apologise for the fiery Oval Office spat with Donald Trump that saw him leave the White House early.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Washington DC as he was due to clinch a deal on minerals with the US on Friday.
But the final ten minutes of a meeting in front of the world’s media saw tensions rise and a shouting match unfold.
Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy had been due to have lunch with their delegations in the White House’s cabinet room after the meeting – but untouched salad plates and other items were seen being packed up as the meal was hastily called off and Mr Zelenskyy left the White House.
Ukraine latest: Trump’s ‘big shot’ put-down
Mr Trump later said that he had “determined that President Zelenskyy is not ready for peace if America is involved, because he feels our involvement gives him a big advantage in negotiations”.
In a later interview with Fox News, Mr Zelenskyy admitted his public spat with the president and Vice President JD Vance was “not good for both sides”.
He was asked by the interviewer whether he owed an apology to Mr Trump and Mr Vance, bit sidestepped the question.
“I’m very thankful for all your support.. I was always very thankful to your people,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
When pressed, he said: “I’m not sure that we did something bad”.
The interview was supposed to be a victory lap on MAGA’s favourite TV channel, but the interview turned into disaster management for Mr Zelenskyy.
In an interview, he portrayed the meeting as a moment of frank and divergent views between the two but said he did not see the need to apologise.
The pair clashed in the White House. Pic: Reuters
He added he wished that Mr Trump was “more on our side” after the US president said he was in the middle of Ukraine and Russia.
“I want, really, him to be more on our side,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “It’s not just that the war began somewhere between our countries. The war began when Russia brought this war to our country. And they’re not right.”
Mr Zelenskyy spoke to Fox News after the clash. Pic: AP
Ukraine’s future ‘difficult’ without US support
Mr Zelenskyy also expressed a belief that the relationship could be salvaged.
He said, however, that his American counterpart needed to understand that Ukraine could not change its attitude on Russia, and would not enter peace talks without security guarantees.
“Everybody (is) afraid Putin will come back tomorrow,” Mr Zelenskyy said. “We want just and lasting peace.”
He acknowledged that without US support, his country’s position would grow “difficult.”
After repeatedly declining opportunities to apologise, Mr Zelenskyy closed his Fox appearance by saying: “We are thankful and sorry for this. I mean this, we wanted very much to have strong relations.”
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‘A big shot’
Mr Trump said talks with Mr Zelenskyy “did not work out great from his standpoint” and mockingly called him a “big shot”.
The US leader also said the US was not looking for a “10-year war”.
“He wants to come back right now,” Trump said, adding “I can’t do that”.
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Speaking to Fox News, Mr Zelenskyy denied he had asked to come back to the White House.
In a statement posted on Telegram on Saturday morning, Mr Zelenskyy has said it is “very important” that Ukraine is “heard and not forgotten” following his meeting with Donald Trump.
Mr Zelenskyy during the Fox News interview. Pic: AP
“People in Ukraine need to know that they are not alone, that their interests are represented in every country, in every corner of the world.”
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.
The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.
In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.
The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.
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Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine
Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.
At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.
The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters
He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.
Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.
The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.
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The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.
Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.
Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.
Donald Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ has been passed by the US congress, sending it to the president to sign into law.
The controversial tax breaks and spending cuts package cleared its final hurdle as the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved the bill with a 218-214 vote.
The bill delivers tax breaks Mr Trump promised in his 2024 election campaign, cuts health and food safety programmes, and zeroes out dozens of green energy incentives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), it will lower tax revenues by $4.5trn over 10 years and add $3.4trn to the US’s $36.2trn debt.
But despite concerns over the 869-page bill’s price tag – and its hit to healthcare programmes – Republicans largely lined up in support, with just two rebelling on the vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is congratulated following the vote. Pic: Reuters
Every Democrat in Congress voted against the bill, blasting it as a giveaway to the wealthy that will leave millions of Americans uninsured.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made the Republicans’ closing argument for the bill, telling Congress: “For everyday Americans, this means real, positive change that they can feel.”
Earlier, the House’s Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a record-breaking eight-hour and 44-minute speech against it.
“The focus of this bill, the justification for all of the cuts that will hurt everyday Americans, is to provide massive tax breaks for billionaires,” he said.
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The bill’s spending cuts largely target Medicaid, the health programme that covers 71 million Americans on low incomes.
It will tighten enrolment standards, institute a work requirement and clamp down on a funding mechanism used by states to boost federal payments.
The changes could leave nearly 12 million people without health insurance, according to the CBO.
On the other side of the ledger, it will stave off tax increases that were due to hit most Americans at the end of the year, when tax cuts from President Trump’s first term were due to expire.
It also sets up new tax breaks for overtime pay, seniors and tipped income.
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The bill narrowly passed the US Senate on Tuesday after vice president JD Vance cast the deciding vote to break a 50-50 tie.
Mr Trump will sign it into law on Friday at 5pm local time (10pm in the UK), the White House said.
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